Online news startup launches with heavyweight backing

Ongo, a subscription-based service backed by The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today, launched on Tuesday promising a “new way to read, discover and share” news online.

The big dailies are among the content contributors to Ongo.com along with Britain’s Financial Times and Guardian, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, Slate and the US news agency the Associated Press.

The Post, Times and USA Today publisher Gannett announced in September they had each invested US$4 million in the Cupertino, California-based venture, whose website is advertising-free to provide a less-cluttered reading experience.

The news aggregator startup is making its debut at a time when US newspapers, facing a steady decline in print advertising revenue and circulation, seek new revenue streams and explore ways to make readers pay for news online.

An Ongo subscription costs US$6.99 a month. The service is accessible through a computer equipped with a web browser, a smartphone or tablet computer.

Ongo described itself in a press release as a “personal news service that gives consumers a fundamentally new way to read, discover and share digital news and information.”

The Ongo home page highlights the most important stories of the day and stories picked by Ongo editors.

Readers can customise their selections by title, section or keyword, save articles to read later or share them with discussion groups, or “clubs,” of other Ongo subscribers.

Ongo said it features all of the content from the print editions of The Washington Post and USA Today and selected content from the Financial Times and The New York Times.

The Financial Times charges readers for full access to FT.com, and The New York Times has announced plans to begin charging readers of NYTimes.com early this year.

Ongo said additional titles can be added to a subscriber’s account starting at 99 cents a month.

Other US newspapers on offer include the Charlotte Observer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Anchorage Daily News, Detroit Free Press, Kansas City Star, Des Moines Register and Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

“Ongo is launching a news service that puts readers first, and will continue to do so by adding new publications and features,” said Ongo founder and chief executive Alex Kazim.

“Our smart tools ensure that readers get the news they need while our editorial team spotlights the interesting, informative and entertaining stories that shouldn’t be missed,” Kazim said.

A former president of eBay’s Skype subsidiary, Kazim has also served as head of marketing and business operations for PayPal and held senior engineering and management positions at Apple and other technology firms.

News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch has led efforts by newspaper publishers to make readers pay online and Ongo’s launch comes ahead of the expected unveiling of The Daily, a digital newspaper for Apple’s iPad from News Corp.

Murdoch and Apple’s Steve Jobs had been expected to launch The Daily on January 19 but the event was delayed shortly before the announcement that the Apple chief executive was going on medical leave. – AFP